1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus and the like for displaying position information of a current position, and more particularly to a navigation apparatus that stores position information for future utilization, a method of registering position information, and a program thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A car navigation apparatus is used as means for self-recognition of a current position of an automobile in running operation. The car navigation apparatus reproduces data, for example, from a DVD, a hard disk or the like which are media in which road map data is stored, and displays a road map indicating an area currently running on a screen, for example, of a liquid crystal display. Further, the car navigation apparatus can display a vehicle position to be successively measured by a GPS (Global Positioning System) making use of radio waves of artificial satellites, a gyroscope mounted on a vehicle and a vehicle speed pulse as being superimposed on a road map on the screen of the display. Moreover, the driver (user) can easily recognize a running position of his/her car by observing the position thereof displayed on the map.
When a destination is set, the car navigation apparatus searches a guide route from a current position to the destination, and displays the guide route in a color different from a normal road color on the display screen on which the road map is displayed. The car navigation apparatus is also able to carry out drive guidance to the destination by instructing the driver in voice a direction of his/her car to proceed along the guide route. When having such a car navigation apparatus to carry out drive guidance to a destination, the user manually designates the destination in the car navigation apparatus. Upon such designation, the car navigation apparatus automatically searches a shortest route to the destination, and displays it on the screen.
Published Japanese Patent Application (KOKAI) No. 2001-330456 (pp. 5-6, FIG. 4) discloses a car navigation apparatus which is provided, for example, with guide mark utilization status analysis means for analyzing and evaluating a frequency of utilization of a facility or the like which is determined on the basis of the position information of one's car from a GPS receiver and the current status of one's car, and indicated by guide mark data stored in a map information database, so as to produce guide mark utilization frequency evaluation data. According to this technology, if the frequency of use of a point where one desires to drop in on the way is high, it is taken into consideration during a route search. That is to say, it is able to search a route to the destination in accordance with the guide mark utilization frequency evaluation data generated by this guide mark utilization status analysis means.